Humane animal traps are well-known and generally include a trap housing and at least one door which in an open position allows an animal to enter the trap housing and in a closed position prevents the animal from exiting the trap. Many triggering mechanisms are disclosed in the prior art and they generally rely on gravity to move the trap door from the open position to the closed position, although a spring-held mechanism had been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,892,423 and 2,524,504. Generally, trap housings are produced in various sizes to accommodate the size of the animal to be trapped.
Several problems are encountered with the humane animal traps of the prior art. Many triggering mechanisms are complicated and therefore difficult and expensive to manufacture. Many are difficult to set and unreliable in operation.
An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved humane animal trap having improved triggering and locking mechanisms. A further object of the present invention is to provide simple and reliable triggering and locking mechanisms that can be set indoors, away from adverse weather conditions, and transported in a set configuration with minimal risk of activating the triggering mechanism in transit. A further object of the present invention is the provision of a trap which is economical to manufacture and efficient in operation.